Above: Action from the final of the Village Kings tournament between Aiga Malisi and the Wainuiomata Samoans. Aiga Malisi won today’s 10-team Village Kings 10s tournament hosted by the Wellington Samoan Rugby Union at Porirua Park. The Aiga Malisi team, comprised of well-known Marist St Pat’s players such as playmaker Fa’atonu Fili and recently named Wellington Development Player of the Year Matt Peni, beat the Wellington Fijians in the semi-final and then the Wainuiomata Samoans in the final...More

Wellington: 49 (Wes Goosen 2, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Trent Renata, Tolu Fahamokioa, Regan Verney tries; Jackson Garden-Bachop 3 pen, 5 con) Northland: 21 (Jordan Hyland, Solomon Alaimalo, Sam Nock tries; Dan Hawkins 2 con, Peter Breen con). HT: 16-14. WHAT HAPPENED The Lions were behind 14-9 after 35 minutes but roared home to earn hosting rights for the Championship final. In the 34th minute Northland openside Dan Pryor was yellow carded following repeat infringements from the visitors. A minute later Sheridan Rangihuna and Galu Taufale combined to win a turnover and Thomas Umaga-Jensen ploughed through the defence for Wellington’s first try...More

Three big events provide the local rugby entertainment this long weekend. That starts tonight with the Wellington Lions taking on Northland at the Stadium in their Men’s NPC Championship semi-final, where the two sides should be quite familiar with each other having only met last Thursday night. That 36-18 result left Northland sweating on the outcome of other games, and only made it into the playoffs when Hawke’s Bay beat Manawatu in the final game on Sunday afternoon. For the Lions it’s a chance to cement a home final in their quest to return to the Premiership for 2018 and perhaps exorcise any demons after falling at the same stage to North Harbour last year...More

Can't wait for Bledisloe Three this weekend. The battle between the world number 1 and number 3 teams.Actually I could happily not have Bled Three. Happily not see another test match against Australia for oh, a year or so.Because, as I've said before, the Bled is officially boring.The three-test Bledisloe is a historic hangover, from the days when the Wallabies had parity or even supremacy. That was pretty much the late 20th century.Aussie fans are voting with their feet. How long long before our stadiums start to thin out at the prospect of another one-sided clash with Australia, or the Boks...More

Above: Sam Lousi running strongly against Northland last Thursday. Lions fans will be hoping for more of the same against the same opposition on Friday night.  “Keep your body right and keep knocking on the door,” is the best advice Sam Lousi can provide young players at a career crossroads. In 2013, Lousi was in danger of becoming a league reject. Wallabies coach Michael Cheika provided a new direction. “I had played league my whole life, but was going nowhere in the NRL. In 2014 the strength and conditioning coach at the Warriors was from Sydney and an old friend of Michael Cheika...More

Monday was a red-letter day for Northern United first five-eighth Jackson Garden-Bachop. The former Scots College and NZ Schools pivot won the 2017 Wellington Lions Player of the Year award at the awards night on Monday night and also put pen to paper with the Hurricanes by signing a new two-year deal. Garden-Bachop scooped the Player of the Year award after a season that’s seen him appear in all 10 of the team's matches including nine starts, and tally 109 points heading into the semi-finals...More

Above: Piri Weepu and Ma’a Nonu tussling in the 2012 Jubilee Cup semi-final. Weepu has announced his retirement from all rugby (more below) while Nonu returned from injury overnight to help Toulon pip Scarlets 21-20 in the opening round of the European Champions Cup competition. Off the Ball is in association with Rob Law Max , Lovelocks Sports Bar  and Harcourts Johnsonville  Looking at some of the news in briefs, milestones, happenings, statistics, and observations from the weekend of rugby just gone and what’s coming up this week...More

Above: Dan Schrijvers - second-half hat-trick in the Cup final for the Upper Hutt Rams against Tawa. First blood to the Upper Hutt Rams. The defending champions got their sevens show on the road today at Lyndhurst Park by winning the first leg of three WRFU American Ambassador’s Sevens tournaments. The Rams ran away in the second half to beat home club Tawa 38-5 in the Cup final in fading light this evening. The Schrijvers brothers, Hayden and Dan, scored four second-half tries between them in the final...More

It’s a weekend of change, with the representative 15’s season approaching its end while locally the shortened form of the game starts to take centre stage. With last night’s 36-18 win over Northland at Westpac Stadium, the Lions concluded the regular-season portion of their campaign having won nine of their 10 matches. They now sit and wait for who they’ll host in next weekend’s semi-finals in their quest to return to the Premiership at the third time of asking. Just who they’ll face remains to be determined, with Manawatu, Otago, Bay of Plenty, or even a return visit by the Taniwha all possibilities and that – and when they’ll play – won’t be decided until the Turbos take on Hawke’s Bay in the final match of the round on Sunday afternoon...More

Wellington Lions 36 (Asafo Aumua 2, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Jackson Garden-Bachop, Alex Fidow, Julian Savea tries; Garden-Bachop 3 con) beat Northland Taniwha 18 (Jordan Hyland, Jack Goodhue tries; Dan Hawkins con, 2 pen). HT: 12-10 WHAT HAPPENED The Lions made much of the early running, but inaccurate play negated any chances created. Northland should have scored the first try, following a Rene Ranger turnover and a ghosting run up the near side in broken play by second five-eighth Jack Goodhue...More